March 4 & 5 - Around Wellington

One word pretty much describes Wellington for the two days we spent there - windy!  Howling Northerlies that swirled around the buildings downtown.  At times they were almost impossible to walk against - I wondered if Laura would get airborne.  Throw in the odd rain shower (lots of rain at night) and we were happy we weren't pedalling.

With a couple of days to kill we did some shopping and then I headed for museums and similar public places.  One pleasant surprize, they are generally free. My other pastime is looking at downtown architecture.

My first expedition was a tour of the parliamnet buildings.  Free tour, but no photos allowed.  They have 3 main buildngs: the Parliamentary Library, the new parliament buildings and the "Beehive." a rather contemporary design that is different to say the least.  The first photo is the Library, the second photo shows the Beehive tucked in behind the main Parliament building.  See what I mean?

This is the railway station, built during the Depression, and touted as being one of the first earthwuake resistant buildings.

Wellington is right on the largest fault line in NZ; a lot of people thought Wellington would get the big one before Christchurch.  Many of the local buildings boast about their earthquake design features, for example rubber isolators between the foundation and the ground, or structural provisions.   There is still an awful lot of unreinforced masonry about.

Some of the other photos are downtown Wellington.  I enjoy the contrast between old and new architecture.  And their public squares and spaces have a lot of character.

The museums we made it to included Te Papa, the NZ National Museum and the Wellington City Museum.  The photos I took inside either didn't turn out or weren't very interesting.

 On the right is a 1930's vintage wharf shed, which was right on the waterfront (left side of the building) when it was constructed.  The building on the left was built on reclaimed land.  The water is still further to the left, with a giant pedestrian walkway in between.